Survey: Kenyans rate 2014-15 budget average

June 18, 2014

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By KENNEDY KANGETHE, Central, Eastern and Rift Valley regions gave the budget a rating above five whilst the other regions gave a rating of below five on a scale of one to 10/FILENAIROBI, Kenya Jun 18 – Kenyans have given an overall average approval of 5.05 out of 10 to the 2014/2015 budget proposals according to a new survey done by Ipsos Kenya.

Central, Eastern and Rift Valley regions gave the budget a rating above five whilst the other regions gave a rating of below five on a scale of one to 10.

Ipsos Kenya Managing Director Margaret Ireri says the average rating may be as a result of Kenyans’ inability to correlate the budgetary implications to their livelihood.

According to the report, on a scale of one to 10, Central Kenya gave the budget a 5.79, while Eastern Kenya gave it 5.35 and Rift Valley 5.27.

Western Kenya gave it 4.99, Nyanza 4.7, North Eastern 4.34, while the Nairobi and the coastal region gave it 4.4 and 4.78 respectively.

The survey shows that Kenyans are dissatisfied with the lack of relief on the VAT Act in the 2014/ 2015 budget according to a new survey done by the research firm.

The survey findings reveal that 31 percent of Kenyans are dissatisfied that there was no mention on the exemption of VAT for food items.

The survey also reveal that 30 percent of Kenyans expect to be taxed more and this is of concern to them.

Ireri says the perception is based on the reports that the government intends to increase its revenue by 15.5 percent as pointed out by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich during the budget reading.

According to the poll, security budgetary allocations proposals are the most popular with 34 percent spontaneous mentions while budgetary allocations to healthcare, employment creation and free secondary education each received only 7 percent mentions.

“The significantly higher recall of budgetary allocations to enhance security is expected as it comes against the backdrop of increased insecurity and terrorist attacks in the country. This implies that security concerns are a preoccupation of many Kenyans, and any initiatives to improve internal security will be appreciated,” Ireri stated.

The poll was conducted between June 14 and 15, 2014 amongst 1,308 Kenyans adults living in urban and rural areas. Out of this sample, 625 respondents had followed the budget reading keenly.

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KENNEDY KANGETHE Kennedy is a Bachelor of Arts in Communication graduate from St. Paul's University and has been writing for the Capital FM Business Desk since 2013, Besides business news, he enjoys traveling, public